STEM-Based Companies Visit Whitcomb To Promote Careers

MARLBOROUGH, MA - From Marlborough Public Schools: Today, more than ever before, it is critical to expose students early in their education to career pathways. Recognizing that students need authentic learning experiences and role models to inspire them as they envision their future, the Whitcomb Middle School held its first “Whitcomb Career Readiness Day” for sixth graders on May 24.

This event that was created in conjunction with the 6th graders’ work with Naviance, an online career readiness program. “Many students completed a research project about one of the 16 “career clusters” that was featured in the Naviance program. As a result, this year’s Career Readiness Career Day focused on the health services cluster because it’s one that everyone uses or can relate to. In addition, there are many different health related careers (and local businesses) in this field and a lot of hiring being done,” stated Jeffrey Clarke, sixth grade ELA teacher who coordinated the event.

Marlborough Public Schools invited the followed business partners to participate in this special event: GE Healthcare, Patriot Ambulance, UMASS Marlborough Hospital, and Boston Scientific. These partners sent employee volunteers to work with Whitcomb students and to learn about specific careers in the health service industry.

Boston Scientific did an interactive lesson with the students using clickers to explain how they design stents. UMASS Marlborough focused on patient care. Patriot Ambulance brought an ambulance and showed students the equipment EMT’s use and how they respond to emergency calls. GE Healthcare exposed the students to the role of a radiologist and radiologist technician and how to set up for a CTA.

“We are grateful to our STEM based partners for running hands-on experiential workshops for the sixth-grade students at Whitcomb,” said Laura Purutyan, Director of Partners for a Skilled Workforce. “Our goal was to help the students rotate through different stations and ignite a passion for the healthcare sector. This was a great first-time event for everybody involved.”

Photo courtesy of Marlborough Public Schools